"For the cost of one kilometre of urban freeway you could build 150km of bicycle paths, 10,000km of bicycle lanes or 100 well designed 30kmph zones."

"Some 80 per cent young German adults think people don't need a private car anymore because public transport is sufficiently developed."

"Car ownership in Germany is expected to plummet by more than half from 570 per 1,000 people today to 250 per 1,000 people by 2050."

All these factors, says the European Cyclists' Federation's Julian Ferguson, make it extraordinary that only 0.7 per cent of EU funding for transport goes towards cycling provision, when 7 per cent of European citizens use bikes as their main mode of transport.

Cycling, he says, is the 'Cinderella' form of transport - ignored, mistreated, and yet to have its day.

Cars are still king.

He writes: "The European Commission unveiled a Cars 2020 Strategy last week, which gave the automotive industry access to a share of more than €80bn in EU funding.

"Planned proposals to reduce air pollution emissions from cars is being delayed and a long-awaited communication on setting fuel economy targets for cars and vans for after 2020 is also being held back."

This goes against a 2011 EU white paper, which laid out an intention to have all cities supporting walking and cycling for getting around, rather than cars.

He goes on to point how how self-defeating it is to ignore the bicycle as transport:

But do not underestimate cycling. It is perhaps one of the most forgotten areas in transport policy at the EU level. And it could go a long way to helping Europe achieve its transport goals when it comes to emissions reduction.

A study produced by the European Cyclists' Federation found that if levels of cycling in the EU-27 were equivalent to those found in Denmark in 2000, bicycle use would achieve 26 per cent of the 2050 greenhouse gas emissions target set for the transport sector. What is more, bicycle infrastructure is cost effective.

For the cost of one kilometre of urban freeway you could build 150km of bicycle paths, 10,000km of bicycle lanes or 100 well designed 30kmph zones.